Tube capping machine



Dec. 7, 1948. w. E. GERBING 2,455,860

TUBE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Nov. 22, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 QWW w. E. GERBING 2,455,860

TUBE CAPPING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec, 7,. 1948.

Filed Nov. 22, 1945 2 .535. q X 4 a2 r ll-g .[l JI L. 0 Nu Dec, 7, 1948. I Q GERBmG Q 2,455,860

I TUBE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Nov. 22, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 2 203 ZV/LLRRD GERB/n/q.

Dec. 7, 1948. w, GERBiNG 2,455,860

TUBE CAPPING MACHINE Filed Nov. 22, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I v ll! I I MLLHRD EGERB/NQ Patented Dec. 7, l 1948 PATENT t 2,455,860 I p v r was CABPINGMACHWE WiliardE; Gel-b ing, Chicago, 111., assignorto The.

"SholLMd g. Co., Inc., Ch

ofJNew, York icago, Ill-., agco tppration apnlipa i -p, Nox eibsi 2 4%; SQKFELNQ; 1133 8 Claims.

. 17 v This n nt q t le??? o. WERIE'QYQKIQMS. .1 a ype. see in ma hine. h hly. d fjae ei s n. see with. he. em q a v t ei e tii a eiee f' i bs ii raescpn sifs e o va iq is. i es we;

nu, i bih. fe me. ii i rs -e maintain .t t e of siiqhiu ie n' s. sens t e ilii t 9 at an a s to ar a. eii eveni' e ali queh, the. nyeei qn as both witenera s r n iuqti eaeoe: siderable amofmt of White q ed i is ipies.. i the l ke bot n imm d ate a s q a o w th; the new e new rnar s he veh c e It t a m i ma Qi t se hicle especi: I PI- Y i i h bib h x' 19, 9 sst ri id in. a efls r e to. mak ee e e me, w njn ei t is d finab e 2 he ik when. wn iue ei be s teeiitely .i sidaun t is ii-ea nd ai=2 i .v the Wine, i i i rabl qap e a ee and. such c ping jbvee at the se t ha fe ed. e ir b e t ap t bin 1221 9. ev n th u h. the tib ae hemmed. H9 2 one ri il i n a Plant to another point in" the same plant for installer 219a. We l s. a p n t tubing e ran i item. we sweep 1 pqa iqi is 'aeih rn c inef e' whi e i is ni el. t pr ii .it msii iel iafiheinhfler of h ub; tha tin v e ra iW- d eeri b. whe it s de ired; t t h b n th t anno be i ient a di bed wi heiii. eavin ieihta f esi at ih it ha its.. i s e es; rd r; ti 11 .i b a e a s es 'ble I is als i eiiam i bt anej 0 ten s a ca pin a angem n sash matineoi en of. th ca ing ar m nt be le t ni -l mit: tub a he i i tis rem tes eii ei: mt n qna yqr. e fleta lm. nd urth th qae iee a r ne m n hou d" be S a to l; semis e qiec en. e the tubin dut es ie L na. v

in e tee i i in n i I sae ni rtan 9191s. i the nstant nv n n o pm chine for quickly and efliciently ca'pp pipe eat-we f.- he ik the. time ing ia ie-d t qeeraiw n a iou sizes Q ub 1 .5 ie tQi he n etiwi th pr n at: iii. a tann n meshi g an ed s w. s i v ly bar a. u e qr h ke n c a n w. hat ap in Sw etie ,qae et be I18 again seated; without most inequmtlyieaving. telieta erex dene ioit anvsuch. unwatnantedtam n: thing, with the. finished cappi At the seine time, the, capping should I t: at: weasel; r a t ally open d; and

It is also an object of this invention to provide a tube capping mechanism arranged not onlyto operateon tubing andthe likeof -difterent diafiie ters, but also arrangedto-operate with equal faciiityon tubing having difierently shaped endipoiftions. 1

Still anotherobjectof this invention resides in the provision of tube capping. meanswherein an oversized cap is appliedfto the endon the tube and held thereon by adhesive tape onthe equivalent, thev machine placing the tape intie mately around both'the end? of the tube and the oversized cii cumferentiah portion oh the capping member. i r

' A.- furtherobjectoi.- thejnvention resides in. theprovision of a cap-ping mechanism designed; to

hold a capping member in position against'the end ofia tube or the like, and firon a si-ipplyicarried by the mechanism itself secure-th'cap to the end of-"thei tube with the aidi'of adhesive tape, or. the equivalent. a It. is alsoia feature. of= this. inventionw to provide a tube cappingomachine in whichresiliently-urged elements. are included to actupon-Uthe end ofi'tlie tube. and; the capping member, these elements being T complementally shaped toboth. the endof the tube. and: the; capping member, and unitelthe capping memberto thettube. with the aid of adhesivestape, such. elements being e'mljustable to accommodate tubings and capping membersl oil differentsizes; Still anotherwobject of. the inventionis the pro.- vision of a. tube capping. machine; provided: with means to smoothly and intimately. apply. adhesive. tape over the. tube. end and. the capping member, with the-tube end. and capping membefi of: dififerent relative sizes. I It is also. an object oithis invention taprovide a tube capping mechanismincluding. rotary. 616*: ments. for, applying an adhesive tape strip Tove the end of thetube and capping, member, such rotary elements, .being urged bycamming: means into tightassociatiO-n with they end of: the tube and. the. capping: member. andbeing..- propelled aroundthegtubeiby. theiai'd on that. same. cammi-ng means. f

Still: anotherv obj ect of; the. invention. resides in the provision of: a. tube. capping mechanism. by which a, capping member is. held; tothe endof -th tube With theaid of: adhesivev tape, the mechanism carrying, its own supply.- of adhesive tape;

and being soanranged. as to automatically. cut oil.- adhesive. tape 0f. the required; length, and to use only the proportional amount of tape. for. tubes f: different diameters without the need of adjustin the mechanism.

It is astill fgurther object of; this invention to proyide new. and: novel as: well aseconomicai and eificien-t capping.- means. for the. end ofa tubeon thelike. it I Alsoan. object of: the invention-.-resides in the While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantages of the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will become apparent from the following disclosuresj."

taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary front elevational View of a machin or apparatus embodying principles...

of the instant invention, showing the tube being worked upon in section;

; Figure 2 is a central vertical sectional View, with parts omitted and parts shown in elevation, of the structure shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, this figure being an enlargement of the adhesive tape applying structure seen in th central left-hand portion of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevational View i1- lustrating the use of an adhesive tape applying construction of slightly different form, consistent with the tube having a different end shape;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational View, with parts in section, illustrating a still different form of adhesivetape applying structure consistent ,with atube having a different end formation;

V Figure 6 is a top plan view of the structure of Figures 1 and 2;

, Figure '7 is a front elevational view of a portion of the structure seen in Figure 1, showing the same in a different position of operation, with the tubebeing acted upon shownin section; Figure 8 is a fragmentary front vertical sectional view similar in location to Figure 7, but with the tape cutting mechanism eliminated;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View taken substantially as indicated by the line IXIX of Figure 2 with the front plate removed; and

tional view taken substantially as indicated by the line XX of Figure 2;

As shown on the drawings:

In the illustrated embodiment of this invention there is shown a tube capping machine including a base I from a forward corner portion of which an adjustable upstanding support 2 is provided. This support seats at its lower end in a'suitable socket'3 equipped with a thumb set screw or the equivalent 4 by means of which the support 2 may be anchored in a suitable position of vertical adjustment. At the upper end thereof the supportl carries a fixed sleeve 5 (Figures 2 and 6) to which a laterally extending supporting bracket 6 is anchored by one or more thumb bolts '1. The support 6 is provided with a V-shaped or equivalent notch 8 in which a tube, pipe, conduit, or the like 9 is seated when the inner end thereof is being capped. Vertical adjustment of the tube support 6 may be had with'the set screw 4, so that the support is capable of holding tubes of various diameters in proper position for capping.

"At the rear portion of the base I an upstandin fixed frame In is provided which is secured to the base by any suitable means, such as a series of stud bolts II. The upper portion of this frameis shaped into a cylindrical housing formation I2, and integral bosses are provided within this housing portion l2 to function as bearin 4 holders for shafts to be later described. Extending forwardly from the-housing portion l2 is a fixed cylindrical portion I3 which contains the rotary actuating and control mechanism for the capping elements, also later to be described.

Bolted or otherwise equivalently secured to the open rear part of the housing portion l2 of the frame is a relatively fixed closure member M, Figures 2 and 6. This closure i4, together with the internal construction of the housing part l2,

7 journals a main drive shaft l5 (Figure 2) on the outer end of which is a manually operable crank Hi. It will be appreciated that a suitable mechanical drive may be employed in lieu of the crank, if so desired,,but for much of the operation of the tube capping machine a manually actuated crank is satisfactory. .Within the housing part 12 a gear I! is fixed to the shaft l5, and this gear meshes in turn with an offset gear l8 carried on a shaft l9 (Figure 10), which offset gear in turn meshes with a centrally disposed gear keyed as seen in Figure 2 to a hollow shaft 2 Leoncentric with the axis of the rotary parts of the machine. The arrangement of the drive gear just above described results in the hollow main shaft 2i being driven in the same direction as the hand crank I6 is turned. The housing portion I2 of the frame is preferably provided with a plug opening 22 or the equivalent at the top thereof in order to facilitate the application of lubricant to the gear train 11, I8 and 20., i

Keyed to the forward end of the hollow drive shaft 2! is a disc-like cam plate 23 which has an elongated hub 2 1 secured to the hollow shaft 2!. This cam plate is provided with a series of inwardly extending curvate slots 25 spaced equidistantly apart. In the illustrated instance, there are three of these slots shown, because there are three tape applying rollers included in the illustrated apparatus, and each one of the slots govern the action of one tape applying roller in a manner later set forth. It is obvious that if a greater number of tape applying rollers is used, there will 'be a greater number of such cam slots Figure 10 is also a fragmentary vertical sec- Just to the rear of the cam disc 23 is a spoked wheel 26, the flange 2! of which overlies the circumferential edge of the cam disc 23. This spoked wheel may be rotated on bearings floating around the hub of the cam disc 23. Extending through the flange 2i of the wheel 26 is an annularseries of elongated bolts 28, and these bolts secure the narrowed circumferential margin of another disc-like member 29 to the wheel 26. Also held by the same series of bolts 28 is a front plate 30 which is hollowed inside to provide a space 3i between itself and the plate 29. It will be thus seen that the wheel 26, the plate 29, and the front plate 38 are all rotatable together-as a unit. With reference to Figure 2, it will be seen that the front plate 3!] has a beveled outer margin and is outwardly flanged so as to extend over the fixed cylindrical portion l3 of the frame and provide an adequate closure for the front of the machine as well as enhance the appearance of ries a roller on the rear side of its elbow, which roller seats Within one of the aforesaid arcuate slots 85 in the cam plate 23, there being a relativ ly lar taperture or opening 36 in the'p ate :29 through which each of the cam rollers extends. Thefree end of each of the bellcran s 33 carries fan lflutward y extending ol a em n .s e er llyi dioated :by numerals! for applying adhesive tape :dire tlyto the tubin and th capping-member, ='lhe tape pp yin o e a a e- :rnentfi extends th ou a suitable s1ot;38 in the frontpla-te .30, a best seen n Fi ures '1 and -8- The sl ts :.38.ar a-r uate so that the r l e arma eemmtr aymQVe inwardly an outwardly in meanin -with tubing of ar s diame -With re. .renceinor p rt ly to Fi ur an fiiit wi ibes en tha th ate 29 is provided withanother a mate s o 39 r u h ch a -=stud .ll:fastened to th am d 23 e t nd A :springA] has one end fastened to the stud 40, a d the other .e ndattached'to a stud 142 secured atocthe eute riac e thepl e 29- -This p n d -tinder t ns on at al esand tends o at a --relative movement be ween cam d s 3 and the-plate 29 as well-as the front plate 30 and the spat er}. wheel 2.6 connected to the plate 29 in a direction such as to urge the free ends of the bell cranks tginwardly. This is by Virtue of the rider rollsgfi being u-rged-inwardly by the arcuate cam slgts g5. Thus, the roller arrangements 31 are zaonstantlyu g toward each other so as to act uponatnbeof the smallest diameter, and there- ;fore no ematter whatsize tube these rollers act Asdllustrated in connection wtih the instant invention,- the capping memberitself, as applied v :te-the whir ed i i t d' u al 43 as 513951735681! Figure}. This capping member is '-.-illustr ated gin;theform of a'disc made of pressed gfibre orithepquivalent,andWhich is preferably .pversized in comparisonwith the-tubing 9. That :is thedisc;projects.circumferentially beyond the ub ngqsorthat the disc cannot be ad-vertently or entionaliy pushed into the tubing and left there. Further, the cap-being oversize tends to protec-t thaedg-e of the tubing against injury by w -rtue of thegfact that if, the end of the tubing is l mped; inst the floor or some other object, s the pping member that takes the impact. tResiliently urged means are provided to hold l the papping ,mem,ber 43in position against the end of the tubing 9 during the attaching. opera- ..tion, Thesemeans include a plunger rod 44 having: i iplunger head 45- thereon as best seen in Figw .w h igh .p1unger head is provided with a ,res pt. insert Ali, made of rubber or, equivalent. l'rnater-ial ,Thisinsertbears directly against the (central portion of the disc -or capping member 4:3; and urgesit positively against the end of the ubing 19. At .the rear end thereof the plunger r od 44 pas es through .a bushing member 41see dto the fixed portion of the frame. The rod abe keyed to-thebushing member as indicated .a 4.8 toprevent rotational movement, of the rod, .put..the.,key isso arranged that the rod is longi- :tudinaily-,sl-idable through the bushing. On the voutereridof the rod is secured a hand button 49 eby. means. of which the rod may be retracted against,theaction .of a spring 50 disposed between th bnshin lfl anda collar .5! keyedto an intersnrediate point ,along the rod. The action of the j ring'jtisgsuch: as to constantly urge the rod ,fonwardlyso that the/head 45 through its insert 46 pressesiirmly the capping member or disc 43. ,With. reference now to;Fi gure 3, it will be seen ,tha .a.h 0.11 16 m p ng roller arrange ments 3'lincludes a shaft 52 having an enlarged shaft 52 is a roller 54, and immediately behind this rolleris a flanged collar member 5.5 having .a forward portion of smaller diameter than the roller and a rear flange portion of largerdiame- .ter. Obviously, the parts 5.4 and 5.5 may be integral if sodesired. A compression spring disposed between the enlarged .portion 53 and the flange of the member 55 urges the flange member androller outwardly against a nut and washer arrangement 51 on the extreme outer end of the shaft 52. Both the roller and the member 55rotate freely on the shaft and relatively to the shaft, pressing againsta tape strip 58. This tape strip is of sufficient width toengage a ,portion of theends of the tubing .9 and intimately fit over the outer circumferential margin of the capping member 43. The partof the .fianged member-55 of smallest diameter receives -the.circumferential edge of the capping member, and the flange portion presses the tape over theadjacent face of the capping member. With this arrangement, it willsbe noted especially that the strip. of tape58 intimately fits around the endiof the tubing 9, makes a substantially rightangl-e bend as indicated at v:5-9and extends outwardly overthe adjacent protruding margin of the capping vmember, crosses over the circumferential edge of the capping .member as indicated at 60, and-thena-margin of the tape. extends over the opposite face of the capping member. as indicated at .61. aWith the roller arrangements 31 positive- 1y urged against the tape during its application of the tubing and capping member,the.applica- .tion of the tapewill be smooth and even. The capping member is firmly held in positionover the end of the tubing, and ifv any attempt is. made to remove thecappingzmember, it will-be substantially impossible to replace the tape in its original position. without disarranging it, adversely-affecting itsneat appearance, orin some other manner leaving a tell-taledisclosure that the capping has been tampered with. Thus, to a great extent, the capping. arrangementemboddediin this invention. prevents sabotage.

:Not all tubes will have the same end formation. With this thoughttin mind, I have illustrated a *tubeafla in Figure 4 having a flared end as indicated .at62. With such a tube, the same cap- .holding mechanism as above described is used, as well as the same cap .43, although due to the flare on the end of the tube,.the cap 43 will not project as far beyond the tube circumferentially as it .did inthe arrangement shown inFigure 3. din applying the tape strip 28 over the tube end and cappingmember, it is only necessary to substitute adifierent form of the roller arrangements 3]. I

Such change may be expeditiously accomplished by simply removing the nut and washer arrangement 5'1, sliding the previously discussed r 'rqller off the shaftt-andslidirig a roller 53 011 the a ,shaft with a flanged member .64 ahead of it. The fi ange d, member 64 corresponds to the previously .Qiscuss-ed flange member 55 and the roller 63 is 1thesarne in. opera o as th roller 64, w t h exception that the roller .63 has a rounded cone tour as indicated 2.13265 .to intimately seat the tape 58aover the flared or belied portion of the tubing -9a.'=iAs-ab-ove explained, the flanged member 64 causes the tape to seat intimately .over the cir- 'cumferential edge of the capping .disc 143land "alsd provides a marginal portion of the tape on the'face of the capping member.

the tape strip 58 around the tube and capping member embodies a flanged element 51 of substantially the same construction as the aforesaid flange element 64 and a roller 68 grooved as indicated at 69 to intimately apply the tape of the tube bead E6. The application of the tape to the tube and capping member is again clean, even and entirely smooth in appearance.

It will be appreciated that the same length of tape will not be required for all tubes and caplar tube and capping member.

To this end, a handle is provided which is bolted or otherwise secured, as indicated at T l, to

a ring 12 surrounding the forwardly ext-ending fixed cylindrical portion l3 of the frame behind the flange of the front plate 30, as seen clearly in Figure 2. Freely extending through a bore in the handle 10 is a reciprocatory plunger rod 13 terminating at its upper end in a thumb button 14 on -top of the handle 10. Near its inner end the 'handle is hollowed inside to accommodate a spring 7% bearing against the bottom of the hollow and also against a suitable collar on the rod '13 so as to urge this rod inwardly to cause the inner end of the rod to seat within a hole or aperture "it in the cylindrical frame portion 13. With reference to Figure 10 it will be seen that this cylindrical frame portion has a number of such apertures 16 spaced equidistantly apart over substantially half the ring. In the illustrated instance there are seven such apertures, and it is a simple expedient to elevate the thumb button 14 until the rod 13 has been disengaged from one of the apertures, and then move the ring 12 along with the handle until the rod again engages a selected one of the apertures. As seen clearly in Figures 6 and 10, the ring 72 carries a cam hump IUD thereon which controls the cutter mechanism to be later described. Consequently, with the aid of the handle Hi this cam hump may be positioned at a desired point so as to control the cutting means to sever the required length of tape strip.

With reference now to Figure 1, it will be seen that the front plate carries a boss 18, indicated in dotted lines, which supports a spool shaft 19 upon which a tape supply in the form of a roll 80 may readily be mounted. The aforesaid strip of tape, 53 extends from the roll 80 over a rotary guide member 8| carried by the front plate 30 and which is relatively wide to accommodate tapes of varying widths, and thence over another rotary guide roll 82 mounted adjacent the apex portion of a substantially triangular plate Ill]. As thus seen in Figure 6, the tape holding arrangement 19 embodies a thumb bolt 83 between which and the tape roll a compression spring 84 is located, this arrangement being adjustabl to increase or 8 diminish the tension upon the strip of t'ape being unwound, as well as accommodating tape spools of varying Widths.

. In the start of an operation, the free end of the tape strip 58 may be manually applied to the end of the tubing 9 as well as over the edge of the capping member 43, as indicated at 85 in Figure 1.- Cutting means to be later described are arranged to automatically sever the tape strip to provide a desired length which is preferably sufiicient to pass approximately once around the end of the tubing and the capping member.

Of course, there will frequently be a slight overlap at the end of the severed tape strip, and as the term approximately is used herein and in the appended claims, that term is to be construed sumciently broadly to include an exact meeting of the ends of the severed strip or an overlap of these ends. After the desired length of strip has been severed'there will be a loose end which should preferably be held tight substantially unti1 it is actually contacted by one of the roller arrangements 3! so as to insure the clean and tight winding of the tape around the tube end and capping member.

To this end, there is provided an arm 86, Figures l and 8, pivoted at one end to the shaftof one of the roller arrangements 31. The other end of the arm carries a free roller 88 over which the tape strip extends. The free end of the arm is connected to a tension spring 89 and the other end of the spring is anchored to a stud 92 carried by the aforesaid plate I In at a corner thereof. This anchoring of the spring end may be by way of a pin 9|] projecting laterally from the stud. After the desired length of tape has been severed, the free end of the tape, bearing in mind that the tape has an adhesive undercoating, by virtue of its adherence to the roll 88 draws the arm 86 against the action of the spring 89 to the position seen in Figure 8 from the position seen in Figure 1. As the roller arrangements 31 travel along the severed piece of tape, it will be noted that there will be a very short end portion of the tape remaining after the tape leaves the roller 88, this portion being so short as not to interfere with a tight and positive winding of the tape around the tube endand capping member. As soon as the tape pulls free of the roller 88, the spring 89 restores the arm 86 into its original position as seen in Figure l.

with respect to the applying arrangements.

The cutting mechanism which severs the desired length of tape from the strip 58 is best seen in Figures 1 and '7. This cutting mechanism is carried mainly by the triangular plate III) which is pivotally connected near one corner, as seen in Figure 1, to one of the aforesaid shafts 32,which particular shaft 32 extends through the plate H0.

Further, as also seen in Figure 1, the bellcrarik arm'carrying one of the tape applying arrange .ments 3! and having an end keyed to that particular shaft 32, has the shaft of its cam roller 35 extending through the plate I I0, so that this plate must follow every movement of that particular bellcrank arm. Thus, the plate always remains the same distance from the tape applying ararrest Garries a" knife 93: for severing the, tapestri-p. The other end of the arm on the other side of: the pivot point isconnected toa link. Stand theoppo site'end of the link is pivotal-1y connected to a crankarm -9-5, the other end of the crank arm being fixedly associated. with a shaft .96. A rider arm 9-! also has an end fixedly associated with the shaft 98 and at its freeend carries a roller 98. The shaft 9.6 extends rearwardly sufficiently far so that. the roller 98 rides along. the circumferential surface of the ring part '12,; as best seen in Figure 6. It; will be recalled that the ring-like member 1'2. is stationary during operation of the machine, being held in that position by Virtue of the engagement of the plunger rod. 73 in one of the apertures iii in the cylindrical portion l3 of the frame, so thatthe front plate together with itsrnechanism including the cutting arrangement may move relatively to the ring-like member 12. A tension spring 99, Figures 1 and 7, maintains the roller 918' in contact with the surface of the ring member [2 by virtue of its pull on a free por tion of the crank arm 95.

As the front plat-e30 rotates during operation of the: machine, the entire cutting mechanism is carried. along and after a predetermined portion of a revolution, depending upon where the cam hump Hill is set, as above explained by the handle 10, the roller 98 rides over this cam hump. This throws the roller outwardly swinging the crank arm 95 and link 94 inwardly, thus pivoting the rocker arm 9| so that the knife blade 93 severs the strip of tape between the aforesaid guide roll 82 and the roll 88 which maintains the free end of the tape in taut'position until the severed portion 3 is'wound around the tube and capping member. Immediately upon passing over the cam hump i991, the cutting mechanism assumes its original position and continues itsv travel with the front plate 30. until the tape winding operation is completed.

vIt will be understood that when a new tube is placed in position and a new capping member set against the end of it, it is desirable to expand the roller arrangements 31 to permit the positioning of the tube and cap, and in view of the fact that the invention will operate with various sizes of tubes and consequently various sizes of capping members, the means for expanding the. roller arrangements 31 must be easy to manipulate so that the rollers may be very expeditiously set against the new tube and cappin member regardless of the individual sizes of the latter.

-With the instant invention, the expanding of the roller arrangements 3'! is accomplished merely by :51.

a reverse movement of the hand crank 16. fCorresponding reverse movement of the spoked wheel 26- with the mechanisms connected thereto including thefront plate 3! with its operating parts isv prevented by means of a dog-leg pawl HM at- ,tached at its elbow to the end of a pivot shaft 12,

the outer end of which shaft has a thumb wheel 10.3 thereon, as best seen inFigures v2 and 10. This dog isaurged by a suitable spring l M-so that its free end rides the inside surf-ace of the rim of the spoked' wh'eel'iiB.v 'This free end of thedog is positioned to fall into a suitable notch 15 in the rim 2] of the wheel 2.6 hutlthe notch is so arranged that the dog will not impede forward motion of the apparatus, but will impede reverse motion. Accordingly, when the hand crank I6 is moved reversely the cam plate 23 is likewise moved reversely against the action of the aforesaid spring 41 but the dog I01 holds the other movable parts of the apparatus stationary.

16 Thus, the roller arrangementsfl aresllread ap rt y virtue of the movement of: the cam plate. and the rollers 35 riding the slots 25 in the camplate. Assoon as the new tubeand Capping member have been placed imposition, the nandcrank may be released; and thespring M; will restore the cam. plate. to its proper position will all. of: the roller arrangem nts 31 tightly engaged against the-new tube: and capping member.

I pawl. Hill. also pertormsanother ,function inthat itindicates; to. the. operator the. samev starting point. for each operation. It makes no .diflerence. and. in fact at times migh rove a better coursaif. the-hand crank is turned several revolutions to-providean ironing effect. to the tape wound around the tube.- end and. capping member, one revolution being sutficient. for the. winding operation. It is a simple expedient. for the operator to reverse motion at the end of an operation until the pawl NH engages the notch 10,5; and while reverse movement. of the crank is still permitted as above explained to expand the tape applying arranged rollers 31., therev will bea distinctly noticeable difference in pressure, But ficient. to adequately indicate to the, operator that the starting point hasbeen reached.

It is believed that the. operation of, the instant invention is suiiiciently a paren from the fore going to warrant only a brief; rsum herein. A tube to be capped is first placed in p sition upon the holding bracket 6.. Obviously it the tube is of any material length. other supporting means may beprovided for the opposite end or mid point- An ov -s zed capping member. 43. is locked in. position against they end ofvthe tube with theaid of the plunger rod. M. W il thfi capping member being placed in: osition, the roller arrangements 31 are held in, retracted or expanded position with the aid of the. hand, crank it. With the .aid of the handle 10 the cam hump 1.0-!) may. :be. setatthe required position to insure the cutting .of the desired length of tape depend; ing upon the sizeof the tube. As soon as the cap is placed in position, these roller arrangements may be released to. be forced into tight asso ciation with the end of the tube and the capping member by the spring M.- Then the free end f the p strip 58 is pressedinto engagement with both the tube and the capping memberas seen in Figure .1. ..,suifioient overlap of the ta is provided to form the flange vonuthe outside face of the capping disc. as indicated at, Si in FigureB. The crank handle L6 .isv then rotated forwardly as m ny turns as Amy e desired. During the rotating operation, the roller arrangements 3.! press the tape intimately and smoothly over the end of the tube and the appin member, and during this process, the cutting mechanism op rates to sever a p oper le h of tap from the strip.

It will be noted that the machine is highly emcient and ra id in opera ion-and requires, a mini- .mumof labor. and is extrem ly simple in actionif-he invention. p vide a n at, cleamcut capping era tubein a manner such as to elim nate to a ea extent sahotaeeof the tube, and i-ria manner to protect the tube by virtue of the fact thatsh-ock otherwise occurring a ainst the end .of the tube will. occur against the oversize capping memb Further, the machine is economical and highly durable. I

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construct n may be varied thr ug a w range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims. I claim as my invention:

1. In a machine for securing an oversize disc to the end of a conduit, means for holding a disc in position against the end of a conduit, a rotatable member, a plurality of rollers carried by 'said member and shaped oomplementally to the conduit end and disc, a tape holder also carried by said member to supply tape to be pressed into position around the conduit end and disc by said rollers, a cam member arranged to urge said rollers inwardly against the conduit and disc and also actuate said rotatable member, said cam member having a series of inwardly extending cam tracksand riders for said tracks associated with said rollers.

' 2. In a machine for securing an oversize disc to the end of a conduit with the aid of adhesive tape, a conduit support, means to hold a disc in position against the end of a conduit, rotary supporting means, a tape spool carrier on said rotary supporting means, rotary pressers also carried by said rotary supporting means to press tape from the spool around the conduit and circumferential margin of the disc, cutting means arranged to sever the tape ribbon at a predetermined time during the application of the tape, and adjustable cam means for actuating said cutting means and selectively control the amount of tape applied.

3. In a tube capping machine, fixed tube supporting means, resiliently urged but otherwise fixed holding means to maintain a capping member in intimate association with the end of a tube held by said supporting means, mechanism arranged to rotate around the tube end and said cappingmember, a holder fora tape spool carried by said mechanism, pressing means also carried by said mechanism to press a strip of tape from the spool around the tube end and capping mem ber to secure the capping member to the tube, said pressing means being adjustable to act on tubes and capping members of different sizes, guide means between the spool and said pressing means to guide the strip being unwound from said spool, and means to selectively limit the amount of tape unwound from the spool.

4. Tube capping apparatus, including rotary means arranged to circumscribe a tube end and capping member, a tape spool carried by said means, guide rollers also carried by said means and over which the tape strip emanating from said roll is trained on its way to the tube end and capping member, cutting means to sever a required length of tape from the strip, and one of said guide rolls being resiliently biased so as to yield with the severed tape portion and maintain the free end portion taut until approximately the time it is engaged with the tube end and capping member.

5. Tube capping apparatus, including winding means arranged to wrap a strip of adhesive tape around both a tube end and capping member, Dressing rolls associated with said means and biased towards the tube end and capping member to press the tape intimately thereag-ains-t, means for rotating the pressing rolls around the tube end and capping member, and stop means limiting a reverse movement of said rolls to a definite starting position but permitting forward motion to any desired extent.

6. Tube capping apparatus, including rotary supporting means, spaced presser rolls carried by said means to bear against a tube end and capping member and press a strip of adhesive tape into intimate association therewith, cam riders associated with said rolls, a cam member having inwardly directed and arcuate cam tracks bearin against said riders arranged to drive said rotary means by virtue of a camming action against said rolls tending to urge the same into tight engagement with the tube end and capping member, and selectively operable means to move said cam member relatively to said rotary means to move said rolls outwardly for the positioning of a new tube and capping member.

7. Tube capping apparatus, including rotary supporting means, a tape supply carried by said means, a cutting element carried by said means to sever a requisite length of tape, presser rolls biased toward a tube end and capping member to press the tape from said supply into intimate associa- 1 tion with the tube end .and capping member, and

guide means for a strip of tape also carried by said rotary means mounted to travel with the free end of tape being applied and arranged to auto matically hold the free end of a severed tape portion until approximately the time such free end is acted upon by one of said rolls.

8. Tube capping apparatus, including means to hold a capping member against the end of a tube, a rotary member, a plurality of members carried by said rotary member and each pivoted adjacent an end thereof, a presser roll carried by the free end of each of said pivoted members and shaped complement-ally to the tube end and capping member, a rider on each of said pivoted members intermediate the ends thereof, a rotary cam element having an arcuate track extending generally toward the axis of rotation for engagement with each of said riders, and means to rotate said cam member, said cam member urging said rollers inwardly against the tube end and capping member and driving said rotary member when turning in one direction and releasing said rollers when turning in the opposite direction.

WILLARD E. GERBING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 22,591 Pfohl et a1; Jan. 16, 1945 557,561 Dodson Apr. 7, 1896 720,175 Moyes Feb. 10, 1903 1,233,469 Heath July 17, 1917 1,431,341 Tevander Oct. 10, 1922 1,446,542 Boon Feb. 27, 1923 1,526,572 Ten Eyck Feb. 17, 1925 1,645,734 Berry Oct, 18, 1927 1,744,973 Kuechenmeister Jan. 28, 1930 1,824,241 Stelling n Sept. 22, 1931 1,903,220 Lemert Mar. 28, 1933 2,057,060 Schantz Oct. 13, 1936 2,057,061 Eggerss Oct. 13, .1936 2,095,528 Osborn et a1 Oct. 12, 1937 2,118,073 Dittmeyer May 24, 1938 2,269,621 Davis et a1 Jan. 13, 1942 2,324,572 Frederick July 20, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 18,604 Great Britain 1891 

